Riley and Ruben

This article focuses on the interactions between Riley and Ruben.

Coverage
Ruben and Riley have a what you can consider a love-hate relationship. Ruben auditioned into the show to get a girlfriend that he can break her heart with. He thinks that since Riley is so crazy he can easily make her his girlfriend, constatnly underestimating her strenghs. Riley swear that she has no interest whatsoever in him, yet tends to blush whenever he flirts with her. Ruben assures that his feelings for Riley are nothing more than a cruel plan, yet finds himself accidentally admiting his feelings for her. They sometimes end up fighting for really stupid reasons and sometimes end up teaming up for stuff right out of the blue. This tends to cause a lot of struggle for the team.

Marathon Animals
Ruben makes one of the first three confessionals of the season. He reveals to everyone his plan about wanting a girlfriend he can dump, saying that since Riley is so crazy she'd fall for him easily. He then tries to make a move on Riley, but Riley immediataly turns him down, saying that 'she'll make the evil pixies come to get him'. Ruben then tells her that her craziness turns him on, leaving Riley growling at him. When Skyler, Briana, and Kayleigh start messing around controlling the plane, Riley gets scared enough to cuddle up to Ruben, but soon shows her disgust and lets go. Ruben tells her not to be shy, and that she can cuddle up to him if she wanted, but ironically the plane stops shaking after he says this.

Once the cast makes it to the Serengeti, both are placed on the same team. As the challenge goes by, Riley eats an apple from an apple tree, which soon gets her to pass out. Ruben decides to take action, and gets cold water to wake Riley up with. Riley wakes up with a gasp, wondering what was going on. Ruben then explains it to her, by putting his arm around her in the process. Riley starts to blush deeply at this, with an attempt to hide it, and commands Ruben to get his arm off of her. In the confessional, Ruben is seen happy about Riley having feelings for him, but assures to everyone that it's just because it goes along his plan, accidentally calling Riley her a 'crazy pixie beauty'. Riley is then seen in the confessional, denying to have feelings for Ruben. However, what first turns out to be a list of Ruben's flaws, Riley accidentally admits that she thinks he's strong and brave, with a loving tone as she says this.

When both confessionals are over, Riley tells her team to keep going, so that the other team, aka. The Pretty Butterflies, doesn't catch up. However, as she tries to walk, she wobbles and falls to the ground. Ruben insists to Riley that it's best if he carries her on the way to the finish line, calling her Babe as he says this and winking at her as he finishes this statement. Riley angrily tells him to not call him Babe, and insists that she doesn't need any help, but Simon contradicts her, which Riley calls him a 'traitor' for. Ruben then lfts Riley off the ground, only to leave her hanging from his shoulders, he asks her if she's comfortable. Riley denies this, crossing her arms, but Ruben winks at her, saying that 'he knows she is'.

Trivia

 * They are the main love-hate couple of the show
 * They can be compaired to Alejandro and Heather from the original series, since Ruben is also trying to manipulate Riley, but he soon ends up developing feelings for her. And like Heather, Riley denies her feelings for Ruben, despite how obvious her attraction for him is.